Mitt Romney addressed the National Rifle Association’s annual convention Friday and pledged to protect their firearms — but mentioned the word “gun” only once in his speech.

Romney, who also brought his wife, Ann, on stage for an impassioned defense of motherhood, appealed to the powerful gun lobby for support by warning that President Obama wants to crack down on their personal liberties.

“We need a President who will enforce current laws, not create new ones that only serve to burden lawful gun owners,” he said at the convention in St. Louis.

The Obama campaign does not have the universal 3-digit security code feature for credit card transactions on their website. It appears that anyone, anywhere can donate to President Obama's re-election campaign, all you need is a credit card number. Watch me put Obama's donation system, as well as his opponents, to the test.

This has been a really bad week for the idiotic “War on Women” talking point Democrats have been pushing....

The crowning moment of this disastrous week for the Obama War on Women came when Democrat strategist Hilary Rosen made a sandwich of her own shoe on CNN by sneering that Mitt Romney’s wife Ann has “never worked a day in her life...”

Unfortunately for Team Obama, Rosen is still furiously digging away and refusing to apologize, rapidly becoming a Twitter laughingstock. The damage is done. There’s far more concrete “evidence” of Barack Obama and the Democrat Party waging a “War on Women” than anything introduced against Republicans, who have primarily been castigated for insisting that some women shouldn’t be forced to pay for other women’s birth control. Of course, anyone interested in facts and logic never had much patience for this idiotic political narrative to begin with.

...Obama's approval rating among 18- to 29-year-olds hovers around 50 percent (after almost a year of bad press for the GOP). But a late 2011 Harvard survey found that only 12 percent of young people felt the country was moving in the right direction. An outfit called Generation Opportunity, which is trying to organize young voters on economic issues, finds that 77 percent of young people have had to put their lives on hold because of the economy....

Indeed, Romney should take some lessons from Ron Paul on this score. There is quite literally nothing hip or cool about Paul, but of all the politicians this cycle, he probably generates the most excitement among young voters. Now, part of Paul's appeal Romney cannot copy. Paul's esoteric and conspiratorial theorizing about the Federal Reserve, for instance, won't help Romney in the general election.

But what Romney can learn from the 76-year-old Paul is the appeal of authentic nerd chic. It's cool to be really into your issues and interests. And one of the things that distinguishes the millennial generation is an understanding that nerds -- Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs et al. -- get things done, and get rich as a result.

After four years of dashed expectations, a studiously uncool Romney might offer a welcome contrast to Obama's audacity of hype.

"I applaud Congressman Issa and Senator Grassley for their work in exposing the “Fast and Furious” scandal. And I applaud NRA leadership for being among the first and most vocal in calling upon Attorney General Holder to resign," Romney said.

Rosen and her media defenders dismissed "faux outrage" about her attack. But the real moms of the GOP have launched their own Occupy movement in the social media space once dominated by Obama's army. And they're winning.

She also touched on some other topics of the day. From the interview: "The problem is not the American people or our vast resources. The problem is a lack of political will. Our politicians don’t have comprehensive energy plans. They have a couple of talking points that they spout over and over. Obama is a perfect example of this."

With polls showing Mitt Romney losing ground with women voters, many in Washington have been buzzing in recent days over Romney’s “woman problem.” They’ve got it backward: It is Barack Obama who has the bigger problem with women.

When he took office in 2009, Obama’s job approval rating with women had reached 70 percent; today it has slipped to 49 percent — a precipitous decline of 21 points. This is why the president has been working overtime to court the women’s vote — weighing in on whether women should be admitted to the Augusta National Golf Club (even though nobody asked what he thought); publicly taking the side of a female Georgetown University law student in her spat with Rush Limbaugh; and forcing religious employers to provide coverage for contraception and abortion-inducing drugs.

But here’s the interesting thing: It’s not working. As these controversies have dominated the news in recent weeks, Obama’s approval rating among women has not gone up; it has actually declined slightly. Why is that? Perhaps it’s because country club membership and who pays for birth control are not the issues women voters are most concerned about.

The No. 1 issue women said was a priority for them is health care. Obamacare remains deeply unpopular with the American people, and women are even more opposed to it than men.

The No. 2 issue women identified on their list of priorities: Gas prices. Not a winning issue for the president.

The No. 3 issue for women? Unemployment.

The No. 4 issue for women? The national debt.

Far from having the upper hand when it comes to the women’s vote, Obama is either vulnerable or in deep trouble on almost every key issue women voters say they care about.

...Among the highly sought after group of independents, the poll found 43 percent back Romney and 37 percent Obama.

...The poll shows the gender gap may not solely be a problem for the Republican candidate. Women are more likely to back Obama (by 49-41 percent), while men are even more likely to give their support to Romney (by 52-38 percent).

...Obama’s overall job approval rating stands at 42 percent, down from 47 percent last month. The drop comes mainly from Democrats: 80 percent approve now, down from 86 percent in March. A 51 percent majority of voters disapproves of the job Obama is doing.

More voters think Obama’s policies have hurt (37 percent) rather than helped the economy (31 percent). Three in 10 say his policies haven’t made much a difference either way (31 percent).

By more than two-to-one voters say the spending is out of control and the country must take action to reduce the national debt. Much more at the link

Democrats have engaged in a full-court press in pushing back on strategist Hilary Rosen’s comment on CNN Wednesday night that as a wealthy stay-at-home-mom Ann Romney “never worked a day in her life.” ...Rosen apologized to Romney Thursday, but only after kicking up a firestorm over stay-at-home motherhood and drawing a rebuke from the president himself.

"The modern-day campaign and the swiftness of the charges and the counter charges and the intensity of it is enormously frightening for campaign professionals and for consultants and for candidates alike," she said. "This is going to be an ugly campaign season and if this ends up being the start to it, so be it."

Apologizing again, Rosen said she saw no need to meet with Ann Romney face-to-face to discuss the issue.

When President Obama traveled to Florida this week, he sandwiched a partisan speech at Florida Atlantic University between two multimillion-dollar fundraisers for his 2012 campaign, allowing him to label at least part of the trip to a critical battleground state as official business.

While Mr. Obama can rely on Air Force One and other military aircraft at his disposal for official business, federal election laws require his campaign to pay for these presidential perquisites at just a fraction of the cost — the equivalent of a commercial airline ticket — whenever he or other administration officials are using federal government resources for political activity....

A search of Obama campaign Federal Election Commission reports turned up less than $5,500 in payments last year to the U.S. Treasury — and those payments did not list the purpose behind them....

As of March 6, Mr. Obama has participated in 191 fundraisers, already topping the re-election cycle totals of George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, who held 167 and 173 fundraisers, respectively, according to Mr. Doherty, who has been tracking figures for an upcoming book, “Rise of the President’s Permanent Campaign.”

In addition, Mr. Obama has deployed Cabinet members and senior aides across the country in aggressive and unprecedented ways. The officials will appear as surrogates at so-called “super PAC” events, as well as campaign and party events. The campaign’s “Speaker Series” programs sells time with White House advisers and Cabinet officials. For $5,000, supporters can buy a “season pass” to see officials when they come to town.

Breitbart specifically singled out Al Sharpton and MSNBC, anticipating that they would cynically use empty "dog whistle" accusations to inflame racial tensions. He noted that it made no sense for Sharpton to have a prime time program "unless you understand what they're doing":

This is gonna be the dog whistle election cycle. They tested it in 2011, so that [Sharpton] and his pal Touré, and that punk, Tim Jacob Wise, and Ed [Schultz], and [Rachel] Maddow can sit there and call everyone who's caucasian racist--"I heard it! I used 'is' instead of 'are'! He's a racist! That's a dog whistle"

The blowback from Democrat strategist Hilary Rosen's remarks against stay-at-home moms reached a fever pitch this morning, kicking the campaign into massive damage control mode. Last night David Axelrod and Jim Messina threw Rosen under the bus and this afternoon Michelle Obama joined them.

A Democratic consultant with ties to the Obama administration sneering that Ann Romney “never worked a day in her life” is an opportunity for the Romney campaign, but a small problem in the big picture. In the big picture, women who are unable to find work in Obama’s economy are a bigger one.

Having said that, White House visitor logs indicate that “Hilary Rosen” visited the White House 35 times.

Gen. David Petraeus, head of our efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the current CIA director, nine times.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Democratic strategist and DNC adviser Hilary Rosen took a swipe at Mitt Romney's wife on CNN tonight, claiming that Ann had "never worked a day in her life" -- a statement that led to criticism on Twitter from not just Ann but from the Obama campaign as well.... “I could not disagree with Hilary Rosen any more strongly. Her comments were wrong and family should be off limits. She should apologize,” Obama campaign manger Jim Messina tweeted. “Also Disappointed in Hilary Rosen’s comments about Ann Romney. They were inappropriate and offensive," Obama strategist David Axelrod added.... But Rosen isn't backing down.

Want a preview of the hyper-speed political warfare that will mark the general election campaign? Look no farther than a skirmish, conducted first on Twitter and later everywhere else, that erupted Wednesday night over a Democratic strategist's accusation that Ann Romney has "never worked a day in her life."

It started on CNN, when Hilary Rosen, a longtime Democratic operative, appeared in a segment alongside fellow Democrat Paul Begala and conservative blogger Erick Erickson. Rosen denounced Republicans for -- she claimed -- wrongly attributing the phrase "war on women" to Democrats. And then, Rosen said this:

With respect to economic issues, I think actually that Mitt Romney is right that ultimately women care more about the economic well-being of their family and the like. But he doesn't connect on that issue, either. What you have is Mitt Romney running around the country saying well, you know, my wife tells me that what women really care about are economic issues, and when I listen to my wife, that's what I'm hearing. Guess what? His wife has actually never worked a day in her life. She's never really dealt with the kinds of economic issues that a majority of the women in this country are facing in terms of how do we feed our kids, how do we send them to school, and why we worry about their future.

Within seconds, Rosen's statement that Ann Romney has "never worked a day in her life" began to burn up Twitter. Mrs. Romney, after all, had raised five children, as well as dealt with MS and cancer. That was work, no matter how much money her husband made.

Expect on cue from labor unions and the tax-and-regulation lobby: tearing of hair and rending of garments. In their view, reforms to improve flexibility for workers and expedite permits for job-creating development is “a race to the bottom.”

I hate to inform them – we’ve already reached the bottom. We’re bringing up the rear in competitiveness, business tax climate, and trail the pack in regulatory climate. By an overwhelming margin, executives and owners tell us that it’s harder to do business in California than in other states.

A survey of the 2012 crop of job killers reveals a dreary choice – the authors of these bills are either ignorant of the fundamental conditions necessary for job creation – or they simply choose to ignore them.

According to the 2011 annual report on White House staff, female employees earned a median annual salary of $60,000, which was about 18 percent less than the median salary for male employees ($71,000)....

President Obama has frequently criticized the gender pay gap, such as the one that exists in White House.

“Paycheck discrimination hurts families who lose out on badly needed income,” he said in a July 2010 statement. “And with so many families depending on women’s wages, it hurts the American economy as a whole....”

The president and his Democratic allies have accused Republicans of waging a “war on women,” and have touted themselves as champions of female equality. Obama’s rhetoric, however, has not always been supported by his actions.

Because of the tight deadline for acquiring over a million signatures in about five or six weeks the cost will probably go up as the petition drive nears its deadline.

The governor also has recently used direct mail to promote his measure. The accuracy rate for valid signatures is better with direct mail than collecting signatures at the mall. That’s because signatures gathered on the street present a greater likelihood of problems such as individuals not registered as voters signing. However, direct mail is more expensive.

Rushing to get signatures means that the validity rate might be lower than anticipated. Joe Mathews reported on this site last week that petition circulators are facing penalties for bringing in too many false signatures. As Mathews wrote, “Petition circulators told me that they are being threatened with penalties – 50 cents each deducted from what they’re paid – for even the smallest problems with signatures.”

“Democrat Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York and Former Governor of Pennsylvania Edward Rendell helped usher through much needed pension reform for their respective states, easing the financial burden on hardworking taxpayers.

“So far, in California, the only obstacle in the way of tackling the pension system’s massive unfunded liability is Governor Jerry Brown and members of his own party. Brown should govern all of California and not just the special interests, by demanding immediate legislative action on his ‘Twelve Point Pension Reform Plan.’ Inaction for 5-months after introduction of the plan makes it seem as if the Governor and legislative Democrats are simply hoping the pension crisis will go away.”

BUDGET FACT:
State Pension General Fund costs for CalPERS has risen from $370 million in 2001-02 to $2.1 billion in 2011-12, a $1.7 billion increase. To put this in perspective, the state spends $2 billion annually to fund the 23 campus California State University.

NOTE: There is no Humboldt Republican Women's Club General Meeting in April. Instead you are all invited to our Annual Membership SPRING TEA, April 26, 12:00 to 2:30 p.m. Location: Jo Ann Stanhope’s home: 3430 Buttermilk Lane, Arcata.

We welcome new and prospective members to attend (yes, guys are welcome, too.) This year's Fashion Show will be hosted by Ferndale Clothing Co. There will be mouth-watering sweets and scrumptious hors-d’oeuvres, music, drawings, and gifts! It's a lot of fun and we hope you can all attend! (Wear flats or slippers, no heels allowed) Bring friends! Questions? Call JoAnn at 822-4776.

“...On the one path, we’ve got the president’s path: A government-centered society, a society on the path of debt and decline — the path we’re on today. On the other path is what we’re proposing: A path to prosperity,” said Ryan at the George W. Bush Presidential Center’s “Tax Policies For 4% Growth” conference at the New York Historical Society on Tuesday.

“A path to actually getting us back onto growth, fixing these problems and pre-empting a debt crisis. And this November, what we’re asking for is the affirmation of the county to give us the permission and the obligation to put these things into place to fix this before it gets out of our control. … I would argue that President Obama is bringing us toward this government-centered society. He is putting his trust in government and this is a trust that puts us down the path of debt and decline....”

...There is a huge tension between the personalize-your-own-world ethos of the iPod/Facebook generation and the command-and-control, mid-20th-century welfare-state programs of the Obama Democrats.

The young are stuck with disproportionate insurance premiums by Obamacare and with student-loan debt that can’t be discharged in bankruptcy. Some hope. Some change.

Romney needs to make the case that current policy — what Obama has fallen back on — is leading to a crash in which government will fail to keep its promises.

He needs to argue that his “opportunity society” means vibrant economic growth that can provide, in ways that can’t be precisely predicted, opportunities in which young people can find work that draws on their special talents and interests.

Obama’s policies, in contrast, treat individuals as just one cog in a very large machine, designed by supposed experts who don’t seem to know what they’re doing (see Obamacare, Solyndra). Their supposedly cutting-edge technology (electric cars, passenger rail) is more than a century old....

In the end, though, Romney was the best candidate. That doesn’t mean he was the best conservative, or the most principled politician, or the most electable man on the stage. It means that he weathered attacks with aplomb, showed he had sharp elbows, and didn’t make any crucial gaffes to undercut the basic message of his campaign: that he was a highly skilled and competent campaigner. Romney campaigned on his managerial skills, and if his campaign is any indicator, he is indeed a master manager.

The question now is whether the master manager can defeat the master manipulator.

(W)ith a president facing a still-suffering economy, a troubled war in Afghanistan, and a signature accomplishment -- Obamacare -- that might be declared unconstitutional, the experienced operatives at the Obama campaign have a lot of serious things to think about. For one thing, even though the president is well into his bid for re-election, he doesn't have much of an agenda for a second term.

Higher taxes? More green energy? Something on immigration? Obama has so little to talk about in terms of serious policy proposals that he and his Democratic allies are devoting a lot of energy to a new drive for the Buffett Rule, the proposal that taxpayers who make more than $1 million a year pay their "fair share" -- at least 30 percent -- in federal income taxes. It's not a terrible idea, and the world wouldn't end if it were enacted. It's just not very significant. A recent study by the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation estimated the Buffett Rule would raise about $47 billion in new revenues over the next decade. That's less than $5 billion a year -- not much when the annual federal budget deficit is $1 trillion. Basing an economic proposal on the Buffett Rule just isn't serious, but at least it's not car elevators and dog stories.

The Romney campaign is fully aware of the derision directed at Romney by the Obama camp. They don't know what the president himself thinks, but they certainly believe the Obama campaign has no real respect for Romney, either as a politician or a man. But they're not particularly troubled by it, because they suspect the end result will be that the Obama campaign will habitually underestimate Romney. When you're running for office, it's almost never a bad thing to be underestimated by your opponent.

"I am committed to staying in this race all the way to Tampa so that the conservative movement has a real choice. I humbly ask Senator Santorum’s supporters to visit Newt.org to review my conservative record and join us as we bring these values to Tampa. We know well that only a conservative can protect life, defend the Constitution, restore jobs and growth and return to a balanced budget."

Campaign treasurer Kinde Durkee recently pleaded guilty to defrauding her clients of at least $7 million. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who lost millions in the embezzlement scheme, gives her reaction after speaking at an April 10 event in Sacramento.

"She had a big business," she said. "She was the go-to Democratic fiduciary."

The governor has joined forces with the California Federation of Teachers, a powerful public employee union, to back passage of what is titled the “Millionaires Tax of 2012.”

The problem is that this so-called “Millionaires Tax” raises the sales tax on everyone -- and most of us are not millionaires. So is Jerry talking about the income tax part of his plan? He and CFT want those making $250,000 or more per year to pay the hike. But the last we looked, $250,000 doesn’t equal $1,000,000. Clearly, this a violation of the truth in labeling act.

When challenged by reporters, Brown responded, “Anybody who makes $250,000 becomes a millionaire very quickly, if you save.”

OK, let’s examine the governor’s logic. If someone making a quarter of a million dollars a year could save tax free, while living on air – that we hope is still free – for four years, it would seem to make that person a millionaire....

The taxpayers group this morning posted a red banner on its website inviting viewers to join a "Don't Sign the Petition" campaign. The banner links to a campaign website opposing Brown's effort to raise the state sales tax and income taxes on California's highest earners.

Jon Coupal, president of the Jarvis group, criticized as misleading Brown's characterization of his tax measure as a tax on millionaires. It includes a proposed sales tax increase and higher income taxes on people who earn at least $250,000 a year.

"A second grader," he said, "knows that $1 million does not equal $250,000."

Don’t Be Fooled! Petitioners Will Tell You It’s for Schools – but It’s Really a Tax Increase!

Petition gatherers may tell you their measure is to increase school funding. But simply put, It’s a Tax Increase! California is already a poorly managed state. We have a $15 billion budget deficit - a result of overspending - $500 billion in unfunded pension liabilities, a tax and regulatory climate that drives businesses away, wasteful and ineffective use of our tax dollars and a political system unduly influenced by special interests. We do NOT need higher taxes. Join us by telling everyone you know not to sign Jerry Brown's tax initiative.

In a new video (below) provided to Breitbart.com, James O’Keefe’s Project Veritas demonstrates why Holder should stop attacking voter ID laws--by walking into Holder’s voting precinct and showing the world that anyone can obtain Eric Holder’s primary ballot. Literally.

The video shows a young man entering a Washington, DC polling place at 3401 Nebraska Avenue, NW, on primary day of this year--April 3, 2012--and giving Holder’s name and address. The poll worker promptly offers the young man Holder’s ballot to vote.

The young man then suggests that he should show his ID; the poll worker, in compliance with DC law, states: “You don’t need it. It’s all right. As long as you’re in here, you’re on our list, and that’s who you say you are, you’re okay.”

The young man replies: “I would feel more comfortable if I just had my ID. Is it alright if I go get it?" The poll worker agrees.

"I’ll be back Faster than you can say Furious,” the young man jokes on his way out, in a reference to the Fast and Furious gunwalking scandal that has plagued Holder’s Department of Justice.

Filmmaker James O’Keefe demonstrated just how easy it is on Tuesday when he dispatched an assistant to the Nebraska Avenue polling place in Washington where Attorney General Holder has been registered for the last 29 years. O’Keefe specializes in the same use of hidden cameras that was pioneered by the recently deceased Mike Wallace, who used the technique to devastating effect in exposing fraud in Medicare claims and consumer products on 60 Minutes. O’Keefe’s efforts helped expose the fraud-prone voter-registration group ACORN with his video stings, and has had great success demonstrating this year in New Hampshire, Vermont, and Minnesota just how easy it is to obtain a ballot by giving the name of a dead person who is still on the rolls. Indeed, a new study by the Pew Research Center found at least 1.8 million dead people are still registered to vote. They aren’t likely to complain if someone votes in their place.

The U.S. Department of Energy's inspector general was sound asleep when Secretary Steven Chu and his crew of federal venture capitalists (using taxpayer money) were dishing out $500 million in 2009 to the Solyndra Corporation to make solar panels. Solyndra went bankrupt and is now out of business. Dr. Chu's merry band also gave federal loans of various sizes to half-a-dozen other "alternative energy" companies that are now in bankruptcy or have shut down production.

It was left for the Treasury Department's inspector general tell us the full story of the Solyndra caper. The IG has revealed that Treasury's financial experts knew nothing of it until "about a day" before the DoE issued a press release announcing that it was approving the loan. It seems that this rushed review was driven by Vice President Biden's schedule, for he was to appear at a ceremony at the Solyndra plant and the loan needed to be in place in order to validate his visit.

In even the short time they had it, Treasury's financial experts raised concerns about the loan. The IG found no evidence that these had been addressed by the DoE. Solyndra's poor debt-to-equity ratio was one of the concerns. In its final days, the Bush Administration had declined a Solyndra loan request because of its shaky financial situation.

At the DoE there is no record of an inspection by its inspector general of any of these reckless capital ventures by Dr. Chu, a physicist with no business experience.

He and his band have also thrown money at implausible electric automobile projects. One beneficiary, the Fisker Co., has been so successful that its $107,850 Karma sports car, when tested by Consumer Reports recently, conked out on a test track after going a few miles at 65 mph. CR reported, "We have owned our car for just a few days; it has less than 200 miles on its odometer.… We buy about 80 cars a year and this is the first time in memory that we have had a car that is undriveable before it finished our check-in process." Apparently, the DoE had seen the Karma as the new car for the masses (at least those with $107,850 and a lot of faith).

Wasting money is not restricted to the Department of Energy. In the annals of egregious misuse of public funds, the General Services Administration's October 2010 Western Regional Conference at a resort/casino dear Las Vegas ranks right at the top. Now, two years later, the GSA's inspector general awoke to the fact it had been held at an expense of $828,000 and he investigated. He found this agency, which manages the federal government's land and buildings, had sent 300 employees to Las Vegas for what amounts to three days of touchy-feely meetings. Included on the tab were a fortuneteller, a clown, and a $31,208 reception for the conference-goers.

A conference of any good size takes much planning, but sending several people on six planning trips to Las Vegas at a cost of $130,000 is stretching the point, to say the least. A well-run presidential campaign would send one advance person out to lay the basic plans, then do all the rest by telephone and e-mail. He or she would return just before the candidate's visit to make sure everything was in order. Another reason for a second trip would be to work on drumming up a large crowd for the candidate's event, if one were needed. In this case, there was no crowd to drum up. All were GSA employees.

The GSA's Obama-appointed Administrator, Martha Johnson, took office in February 2010. Was she not told of plans for an event of this magnitude? If not, surely she must have heard about it afterword and, if so, why did she not inquire as to costs and accomplishments of it? When she took office she said ethics is "a big issue for me." Not big enough as things turned out. Later that year she proclaimed the agency's new security slogan, "If you see something, say something." Apparently, no one said a word to her or the IG.

The story erupted after the IG's report was made available. Last week, Ms. Johnson, after firing two deputies, made a hasty exit (with a shove from the White House) and thundered her outrage about the conference. The IG's report had noted that the GSA had "followed neither federal procurement laws not its own policy on conference spending."

Several questions remain unanswered. Why was it necessary to hold the conference in an expensive resort hotel when the GSA likely has a building suitable for such a regional conference? Why did not someone in the White House interested in covering the President's flanks not spot this and ask questions? The conference was widely known within the government and the GSA's internal website -- seen by hundreds, if not thousands -- posted photos from the party (until the end of last week).

In this case, Ms. Johnson's slogan, "If you see something, say something," was trumped by that old chestnut slogan, "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas."

__________________

Peter Hannaford’s latest book is “Reagan's Roots: The People and Places That Shaped His Character” (www.imagesfromthepast.com)

These “orphan states,” most notably behemoths with traditionally weak parties like California, Illinois and New York, are increasingly the focus of top GOP officials in the nation’s capital this spring....

In California and Illinois, the state parties have more debt than cash on hand for federal races, while the New York Republican Party had just $54,000 in federal funds in the bank at the end of February.

...GOP strategists in the states are equally frustrated with some of their parties.

“We’re just going to have to do a work-around,” said Jeff Miller, a top Sacramento Republican who served as finance chair of the California GOP in 2010. “Latino voter outreach, voter registration and candidate recruitment are all going to have to be done through vehicles outside the state party.”

The cash disparity is stark in California, where redistricting could bring more than 10 competitive House races this year. State Democrats began the year with $9.3 million — that’s not just in federal funds — while California Republicans had less than $439,000. That’s in part because of the money the state GOP spent on an unsuccessful attempt at blocking the newly-redrawn state Senate map.

“A lot of donors here were upset that that’s what their money was getting spent on,” said Rob Stutzman, a California-based GOP strategist.

A third California Republican operative grumbled about ideologically-driven activists being more interested in party purges than winning elections. This Republican noted that the first big party gathering after their dismal 2010 showing was marked not by soul-searching about what went wrong but was dominated by a resolution about whether GOP legislators who supported allowing voters to decide how to fill the budget deficit should be deemed as “traitorous” and recalled from office.

“The party has been co-opted by some folks who aren’t very good at raising money or winning elections,” said the California Republic

"I hit him as hard as I could. He hit me as hard as he could. It turned out he had more things to hit with than I did. And, that's part of the business. He's done the fundraising side brilliantly," Gingrich said.

The Romneys seem to be enjoying a traditional Easter weekend, beach-style. On Friday, the campaign posted an Instagram photo of Mitt and Ann Romney, surrounded by grandchildren, painting Easter eggs. Romney looked sunburned and relaxed, and appeared to be in the patio area of his beachfront tear-down on Dunemere Drive in La Jolla.

Welcome

Hi, I'm John Schutt, chairman of the Humboldt County Republican Central Committee: Want to get involved? We need republicans for open spots on the central committee, committee seats, letters to the editor writers, and more. Send me your thoughts and ideas on making Humboldt great again. Please feel free to call the office (442-2259) or leave a message here (or on Facebook) and I will get back to you as soon as possible.